Annual Report 2020
DUTY FREE REPORT 2020 The Duty-Free Facility at the Grantley Adams International Airport has been in operation since 1959. The service facilitated the delivery of purchases to travelers on behalf of local duty-free retailers and the processing of volumes of third schedules (invoices) under the Drawback Scheme. With the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, travel restrictions were imposed globally in 2020 resulting in significant declines in tourist arrivals to Barbados and significant declines in overall duty-free sales. Research by the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) Annual Economic Impact Report reveals that the global travel and tourism sector suffered an extreme loss of almost US$4.5 trillion in 2020. The Caribbean Tourism Organisation (CTO) noted that the Caribbean experienced a 65.5% fall in tourism arrivals in 2020. The decline in tourism arrivals was evident in Barbados, particularly during the periods of national lockdowns implemented by the Government of Barbados as well as the imposition of travel restrictions by countries globally. This decline was also translated into the hotel and duty-free sectors which remained closed for extended periods during and after the national lockdowns in 2020. As a result, the year saw significant decline in activities and the financial performance of the BCCI Duty-Free Facility and the local Duty-Free Sector in general. It is anticipated that this decline will continue into 2021 as predictions are that the recovery of the global tourism and travel industry will be modest. Review of Packages and Triplicates processed between 2016 - 2020 A review of the performance of the Facility over the past five years shows that there was general decline with respect to packages and triplicates processed since 2016, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and travel restrictions in 2020. The data shows that the case of triplicates there was a peak in 2018 but a downward trend commenced pre-COVID.
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